Abstract

According to the teachings of ancient philosophers, a wise person does not always know everything. On the other hand, knowledge by itself does not make a person wise. Wisdom is part of the process of cognition to the extent that the latter determines practical activity of a person and, first of all, his or her moral behaviour. As Aristotle pointed out, wisdom is knowledge of the Good. Ancient thinkers ascribed the property of wisdom to experiential knowledge and perceived wisdom in various kinds of art and trade, in state government. The subsequent history of philosophical thought shows, that wisdom itself contains, yet another dialectical contradiction – a contradiction between cognitive and axiological principles. Wisdom is the fruit of the knowledge of life, but knowledge in its axiological aspect, experiential understanding of values in their vitality. Wise knowledge is not simply a possession of information, but knowledge – often intuitive – of the value of information. Wisdom is an intuition of reason, a synthesis of rational and intuitive comprehension of values. Philosophy as love of wisdom – like wisdom itself – presupposes attention both to cognitive and to value-oriented human activity.